Adult day care will help families and create jobs
Published on March 14th, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - Town officials say that they can transform the stone barn behind the Senior Center into a cutting edge adult day care facility and create jobs for low-income residents in the process.
On Monday, Stoneham’s ace grant writer and economic consultant Joe Slavet told a crowd assembled at the 136 Elm Street Senior Center that Stoneham should get at least $435,000 for planning and construction.
Residents may remember Slavet as the impetus behind other grant driven projects, most notably the Senior Center and Town Common.
Motioning over his shoulder through the Senior Center window at the 4,000 square foot barn, Slavet said, “We’re going to make this whole place a geriatric campus.”
The funding sought includes an initial $35,000 grant to plan the project, followed by $400,000 from an economic development grant for construction, and additional money from a new $8 million grant fund for adult day care statewide to help maintain the facility.
Slavet estimates the project will cost $500,000 to build.
“The quality of this proposal is such that I have no qualms that we will get not only the grant and the $400,000 but also some of the $8 million,” Slavet said.
The adult day care facility would be designed to provide health and social services to seniors who are not healthy enough to walk in and enjoy the Senior Center programs.
“I’m an advocate of this,” said Board of Health nurse Wendy Cayton. “A lot of people don’t want to go to a nursing home.”
Today younger caregivers don’t have a lot of options. And by 2010, according to Slavet’s figures, there will be more than 20,000 people over age 80 living in the area — the center would serve Stoneham and nine other nearby communities.
“Stoneham folks would get top priority,” Slavet said.
He envisions a 160 slot facility. With this many openings, around 20 employees would be needed, especially aides. The State would pay $20,000 toward construction per job reserved for low-income citizens, if the project were approved.
Stoneham Community Development Director Steve Sadwick prepared a two-inch thick report earlier this year, applying to the federal government to qualify Stoneham for state economic development grants. Stoneham has been certified, and Sadwick and Slavet are confident that the adult day care project will generate 20 new jobs.
“We are under-served in this area with 15 percent of the senior population of Massachusetts but only 4 percent of the day care slots,” Slavet said. This is the central message of the initial $35,000 grant application.
The plan is to build the facility and then recruit and train low income citizens to staff it, thereby funding the bulk of construction.
Stoneham senior citizen Romeo Capuano said that new services for seniors and new jobs sound great, but he wanted to know “Who’s going to pay for it?” Slavet estimated operational costs to be at least $600,000 a year.
“It will pay for itself,” Slavet said. “In Peabody [the Trask Adult Day Health Center] generates a $10,000 a month surplus.”
Peabody runs an adult day care center as a municipal company, like the Wakefield Light Department. Such companies fund themselves without ever dipping into the town till or affecting local taxes. Another option would be for the Town to contract with a private non-profit company. Examining these option will be part of the planning process.
Subsidies from Medicare, Medicaid and new subsidies developing from the $8 million State Division of Health Financing grant fund will provide a portion of the operational funds for Stoneham adult day care, Slavet predicted. He added that private fees will also be significant.
“About 50 percent of the patients in Peabody were private patients,” Slavet said. (Private per diem fees can be almost double daily public subsidies.)
Capuano asked if any HMOs cover adult day care.
Slavet said no, then qualified his response, saying, “Not yet.”
Stoneham is waiting to hear from the State. If the $35,000 grant is approved, Sadwick and Senior Center Director Jane Lavender will organize the effort to study and develop the best way to bring adult day care to the Elm Street site. The Visioning Report put together by Sadwick last year identified adult day care as a big ticket item on Stonehamites’ wish lists.
The only cost to Stoneham will be $15,000 worth of work from Sadwick and Lavender. Under the grant, both individuals will spend 20 percent of their regular hours working on the project.
“Meetings will be held so that you can be part of this process,” Slavet told the seniors at the Monday, March 12, meeting.
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